NLCS Gameday: Phillies at Dodgers, Game 2
Posted by Pat Gallen, Fri, October 16, 2009 02:40 PM | Comments: 332
Gameday 2009, Posts
Philadelphia Phillies (1-0) at Los Angeles Dodgers (0-1)
Pedro Martinez, RHP vs. Vicente Padilla, RHP
Time: 4:07 p.m at Dodger Stadium
Weather: Sunny, 85
TV: TBS
Twitter: Phillies Nation
A couple of old horses face off today in L.A. Just about 14 hours after the conclusion of Game 1, the Phillies and Dodgers will do battle once again with Pedro Martinez taking the hill against ex-Phil Vicente Padilla.
Pedro has not pitched since September 30 against Houston, so lets hope there isn’t too much rust. He has tossed only seven innings since throwing 130 pitches against the New York Mets back on September 13. There is some pressure on Martinez to come out of the gate quickly, without incident, because he has a penchant for giving up early runs. Opponents hit three home runs in nine first-innings against Pedro this season with the Phillies. He’s given up a total of six runs in those nine starts. After that, he normally calms down, as he has proven with his four runs allowed from the fourth to the sixth innings of his starts.
Vicente Padilla is a surprising start in Game 2 for the Dodgers. The guess here is that Joe Torre did not want Padilla pitching in Philly on a cold night with hostile fans berating him. Smart move. Padilla has been nothing short of brilliant since being picked up, going 4-0 through seven starts. However, he struggles mightily in the middle innings, something the Phillies offense will surely pick up on. The Phillies have scored 18 runs between the fourth and sixth innings in five playoff games in ’09. Look for the trend to continue, although a few early on couldn’t hurt either.
The Good: Brad Lidge coming in and nailing it down for yet another save. Is he back to his old ways? Also, Ryan Howard now has 8 RBI in five games this postseason. Look out, Reggie Jackson.
Tonight’s Lineup: Rollins (SS), Victorino (CF), Utley (2B), Howard (1B), Werth (RF), Ibanez (LF), Feliz (3B), Ruiz (C), Hamels (P).
Your Gameday Beer – Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA
While enjoying this afternoon game, grab some delicious Dogfish 120. It’ll make you hop, for sure. It is continuously hopped with high-alpha American hops, then dry-hopped daily in the fermenter for a month & aged for another month on whole-leaf hops. The 20% ABV make this more like jungle juice than beer, but it should give you a nice dayload as the Phils look to take Game 2. Enjoy with some charred burgers and beans, but prepare for a rough Saturday morning. Hop to it. – By Pat
GO PHILLIES!
Posts: 0 Lexo
Phils gave this one to the Dodgers, L.A heading into Philly with some momentum as anything short of a shutout from Lee = massive anxiety. A shaky bullpen is a scary proposition.
Posted: 07:46 PM on October 16, 2009
Posts: 0 Andrew
I dont think he did it intentionaly either. BUT it looks so damn bad. And rest assured there have been rigged big time sporting events in this country. Its foolish to think there hasnt been. Besides 1918 sox I mean.
whatever the deal is I have my eye on him. He is a goat to me now
Posted: 07:48 PM on October 16, 2009
Posts: 0 Andrew
By the way Neil O donnell in that Super Bowl when he just threw passes to that larry brown guy/scrub. That was intentional.
Thats kind of known the NFL keeps thier crap secret. Like NBA and all thier players on roids. Its jsut swept aside like Jordans phony “suspension”
Posted: 07:50 PM on October 16, 2009
Posts: 0 Scott
“Thome’s single even with the double play.”
Eyre gave that one up, not Park. Who’s to say what Park could have mustered after a properly turned double play? It’s baffling. Utley is too good to lapse like that twice.
Georgie — elaborate!
Posted: 07:50 PM on October 16, 2009
Posts: 0 hotstove
Utley is done as the 2nd basemen chuck knoblock. Head case in the making
Posted: 07:54 PM on October 16, 2009
Posts: 0 Gertrude Huffnagle
One good thing: a game like this makes all players better. It was a great game. a thriller. Thank heavens we are not the Mets. or the Cardinals, or the Brewers. We are still World Champs and should enjoy it. It has been a great year and continues to be so. These nerve pills are wonderful except they leave my bowels a little loose. Oh well. GO PHILS
Posted: 07:55 PM on October 16, 2009
Posts: 0 Gertrude Huffnagle
I wish Jimmy Rollins would learn to bunt. He misses 20-30 hits a year by not bunting. It brings the infield in. It gets him on base. His batting average and on-base-percentage climb. The guy shits as a leadoff hitter. Simply ineffective. Brett Butler — not as fast as Rollins — got about 30 hits a year by bunting.
Posted: 07:58 PM on October 16, 2009
Posts: 0 Georgie
Scott, you said a mouthful there-”Utley is too good to lapse like that twice.” That’s why I think there’s more to it than “lapsing”, but last season when I said he might be taking painkillers to get through an injury people jumped all over me, so I’d better not elaborate any more than I already have, but if you read my posts you’ll get the drift.
Posted: 07:58 PM on October 16, 2009
Posts: 0 Brian of CO
“Utley is done as the 2nd basemen”? LOL. He screwed up, he gets the Jeltx, but thats insanity!
Posted: 08:00 PM on October 16, 2009
Posts: 0 Georgie
lol @ Gertie’s loose bowels…
Posted: 08:00 PM on October 16, 2009
Posts: 0 Gertrude Huffnagle
Georgie, you are astute. I hope you are wrong, but you do have a point.
Posted: 08:00 PM on October 16, 2009
Posts: 0 mikeB
Well, I suppose the Jeliz Award will go to either Utley or Chan Ho in this game but many of the posters are right. It would not be fair to criticize anyone player on the team for this loss. It was a team loss. The pitching did a good job holding the Dodgers to only two runs in their home ballpark. Had the Phillies offense scored only two more runs, what all happened in the 8th inning would not have mattered. The Dodgers were lucky with Blake’s hit off of Feliz’s glove and Martin’s bunt which eluded Park and Howard. Happ did not get the calls on Ethier’s walk. With another umpire, maybe Happ gets the calls and Ethier gets called out on strikes. You get games like this once in a while; some you are lucky enough to win and some you aren’t. I am more concerned with the Phillies hitting, especially Rollins, Victorino and Werth, who the Dodgers have been holding down so far. Hopefully these guys will get going at home.
Posted: 08:01 PM on October 16, 2009
Posts: 0 Scott
Looked to be more psychological than physiological, if you ask me. Rollins’s toss last night was a little off-time, so at least he had somewhat of an excuse then. But today — it was all between his ears…
Posted: 08:03 PM on October 16, 2009
Posts: 0 Brian of CO
It IS possible to have a few bad weeks. This IS a VERY long season. It IS possible to play like crap for a few weeks, or longer and still be good. It is possible to call a player out, and still think they are quality. Chase Utley has not been playing well, but dont lose site of what he CAN and HAS done, and PROBABLY will do again.
Posted: 08:04 PM on October 16, 2009
Posts: 0 joedad
Chase is going to risk $100 million to help someone make a few thousand bucks betting on a baseball game??? That suggestion is so impossibily idiotic it makes me fear for the future of humanity.
Posted: 08:09 PM on October 16, 2009
Posts: 0 Brian of CO
There really have only been two “impossibily idiotic” comments tonight. 1, Chase intentionally losing the game. and 2. “Utley is done as the 2nd basemen”
Posted: 08:11 PM on October 16, 2009
Posts: 0 mikeB
I agree with you Scott. Last night Rollin’s throw caused Utley to land in an awkward position in regards to where he landed with his feet after he caught it and he had to throw to first from that off-balance position. Today it was a tailor made double play and Utley just blew it. Kind of wonder if that cold and wet weather in Colorado has caused Utley some trouble with that surgically repaired hip and it is giving him trouble on the pivot when he throws trying to make the DP.
Posted: 08:14 PM on October 16, 2009
Posts: 0 Andrew
Again so no NFL NBA or MLB game has ever been fixed? Is you say no thats idiotic. I dont think its intentional. I do see the steve howe head case thing there was another play thursday night.
Something is off here.
Posted: 08:14 PM on October 16, 2009
Posts: 0 GWFightinsFan
“DODGERS AVERT SWEEP”-should be tomorrow’s headline, cause that’s all that happened here today…
Posted: 08:15 PM on October 16, 2009
Posts: 0 Brian of CO
No one is saying No Professionaly sports game wasnt fixed, but in the NLCS? I HIGHLY doubt that ANY player especially Utley would tank something like that on purpose. Hes sucking right now. PERIOD.
Posted: 08:17 PM on October 16, 2009
Posts: 0 MP
The people on this site that call themselves fans are getting absolutely ridiculous & pathetic.
Posted: 08:17 PM on October 16, 2009
Posts: 0 joedad
“DODGERS AVERT SWEEP”-should be tomorrow’s headline, cause that’s all that happened here today…
One of the best quotes of the day.
Posted: 08:19 PM on October 16, 2009
Posts: 0 Andrew
A as always just having fun.
Utley strikes me as a Rose type who wouldnt throw a game. But
If he was throwing the hames wouldnt it look just like what happened tonight?
I will never understand why people get mad at other people on line. Its a crappy opinion. Who cares. Its BS. Having some fun after a crappy bad loss that was solely in my opinion on Chase Utley.
Posted: 08:22 PM on October 16, 2009
Posts: 0 Andrew
At least I cant be called racist. Unless I am black lol
Posted: 08:23 PM on October 16, 2009
Posts: 0 mikeB
If I see somebody suggest that Bruntlett should replace Utley at second for the rest of the series then I will know that there no longer is any hope for the world.
Posted: 08:23 PM on October 16, 2009
Posts: 0 Brian of CO
NO Free Pass, No other explanation IMO, he is simply playing like crap. Still doesnt mean we should get rid of him, still doesnt mean he will play like that the rest of the season. Either way, we are complaining about this in OCTOBER. We are only 1 of 2 teams left in the NL left to complain, is it really THAT bad? NO. We are ALL spoiled rotten now because of last year, and we all want a repeat, but repeat or not, we had had ALOT of great things to “argue” about. I would take a 1-1 series in the NLCS ANY DAY compared to maybe 2000, when the Phillies were 65-97 (looked the the Mets or 2009) and 30 games back, not to mention 126 days in First Place this season!
Posted: 08:24 PM on October 16, 2009
Posts: 0 Manny
Wow Chase Utley absolutely blew this one… no excuses.
Posted: 08:37 PM on October 16, 2009
Posts: 0 Andrew
We could all be mets fans then life would really suck
I wont be around sunday to post . But I will be putting stars in my score sheet for all suspicious plays! I am also suspecting J roll has been gotten too! Possibly madson. I am on the look out. Take care phillies fans.
Posted: 08:44 PM on October 16, 2009
Posts: 0 chitown phillyfan
As awesome as it would’ve been to take both from LA, this was somewhat of an expected result. This is going to be a hard fought series, one I would not be terribly surprised to go 7 games. Whats most frustrating to me is Rollins play. He needs to start getting on base somehow, as we all know how important he is. But Brian of CO is dead on, to be cheering for a team that is a DEFENDING CHAMPION is brand new to me. Bill Simmons once said that once your team wins a championship, you give them a 5 year leeway where you don’t complain about anything. Some of the people on here would be wise to take that advice.
Posted: 11:18 PM on October 16, 2009
Posts: 0 PhilsPhanPhirst
I cannot believe people are actually suggesting that Chase is intentionally throwing these games or should be replaced. This is the same Chase who threw out the go ahead run at home plate in the WS game 5 with amazing defense. The same Chase that stopped the Dodger’s momentum in game 4 of the 2008 NLCS with an amazing unassisted diving double play. The guy who won game 3 of the NLDS for us this year by hustling to first base and who helped tie game 4 by working out a walk and running like a fiend to score from first on the Howard double.
He was completely off today and deserves blame for the loss (or at least creating the tie), but to say he threw it on purpose is RIDICULOUS.
Posted: 11:44 PM on October 16, 2009
Posts: 0 Moron Fantasy GM
TRADE UTLEY FOR JOSE VALVERDE
Posted: 12:16 AM on October 17, 2009
Posts: 0 2009: The Year of the Comeback | MLB USA
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Posted: 10:20 AM on October 17, 2009